Cartridge repeater pencil



April 8, 1969 D. PARKER CARTRIDGE REPEATER PENCIL Sheet of 2 Filed Aug.18. 1965 IN VENTOR.

alla? DANIEL PARKER7 Sheet April 8, 1969 D. PARKER CARTRIDGE REPEATERPENCIL med Aug. 18. 196e /f// /7/// 7 OO ,1Lf f 4 4 DANIEL PARKEReflttgds.

United States Patent Oy 3,437,413 CARTRIDGE REPEATER PENCIL DanielParker, Milton Junction, Wis., assignor to The Parker Pen Company,Janesville, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Aug. 1s, 1966, ser.No. 573,240 Int. Cl. B43k 2]/16, 21/22 U.S. Cl. 401--67 9 ClaimsABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The present invention generally relates tomechanical pencils, and it relates more particularly to a mechanicalpencil which includes a removable throw-away type of pencil cartridgeincorporating a lead supply and feed mechanism.

Mechanical pencils of the step-by-step type have been known in the priorart for many years and although the cost of manufacturing thestep-by-step lead advancing mechanism is substantially greater than thecost of manufacturing the screw feed type lead advancing mechanism, formany applications the ease and reliability of use far outweigh the addedexpense so that where quality is a prime consideration the step-by-stepactuating mechanism is preferable.

Fountain pens, mechanical pencils, and some ball point pens, because ofthe high quality of design and the precision of manufacture, are treatedin lthe nature of jewelry and under such circumstances the'high qualityof the craftsmanship and the materials which go into the making of thecasing are extremely expensive. Since the average user of writinginstruments has need for a fountain pen, a ball point p'en, and a pencilfrom time to time, it would be desirable to provide a single housing inwhich all three of these different types of writing instruments areadapted to =be replacea-bly mounted. ASuch a casing could thus`accommodate a ball point pen cartridge, a mechanical pencil cartridge,and a. fountain pen cartridge. The present invention is concerned withsuch a casing and with a replaceable type mechanical pencil cartridgewhich is adapted to be operatively mounted within such casing.

Another reason for designing a mechanical pencil cartridge which iscompatible with a housing which also accommodates a Iball point pencartridge and/ or a fountain pen cartridge is to reduce substantiallythe cost of manufacturing both instruments. The separate dies, molds,and other equipment required to manufacture the housings need not beduplicated since the same housing is usable for the several types lofwriting instruments. Moreover, the dealer is not required to stock asmany items on his shelf since the same housing can be filled with anyone of the different types of cartridges at the time of purchase, thusappreciably reducing the dealers required inventory.

Replaceable ball pen cartridges and, more recently, replaceable fountainpen cartridges have been enthusiastically received by the public becauseof the ease of use and reliability of operation. To date, there has notbeen a similar mechanical pencil type of writing instrument available onthe market. It would, however, be desirable to provide such aninstrument. Moreover, because of the mechanical nature of the feedmechanism of this type 3,437,413y Patented Apr. 8, 1969 lCe pencil, itwould be desirable to replace the entire feed mechanism whenever a newsupply of lead is placed in the instrument. The feed mechanism can bedesigned to operate etiiciently for a full, predetermined supply of leadthereby permitting a sutliciently low manufacturing cost to permit themarketing of the throw-away type of cartridge at a reasonable price.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to providea new and improved writing instrument.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Writinginstrument in which the writing mechanism can be readily replaced withan entirely dilferent type of mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved type of mechanical pencil.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedmechanical pencil employing a stepbylstep lead feeding mechanism.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mechanicalpencil incorporating a throw-away cartridge assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanicalpencil having a replaceable, throw-away type of step-by-step leadfeeding cartridge assembly.

Briefly, the above and further objects are realized in accordance withthe present invention by providing a throw-away pencil cartridge whichincludes, as an integral part thereof, a step-by-step lead feedmechanism and a lead storage chamber permanently connected thereto. Thecartridge includes an axially movable actuator member which ts into theactuating mechanism of a writing instrument shell which is also adaptedto accommodate either a ball pen cartridge or a fountain pen cartridge.

Further objects and advantages and a better understanding of the presentinvention may be had by reference to the following detailed descriptionof the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinally sectioned view of a writing instrumentembodying the present invention and showing the instrument in a normalwriting condition with a portion of the writing lead extending forwardlyof the instrument;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinally sectioned view of the same instrument shownin FIGURE l but with the lead advancing mechanism in a non-writing fullydepressed condition;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, longitudinally sectioned view of the forwardend of the instrument of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the lead advancingmechanism in 'a non-writing condition intermediate the return movementof that mechanism from a full depressed condition to a normal writingcondition;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, exploded View, partly in section and somewhatreduced in scale, showing the rearwardly disposed operating portions ofthe instrument shown in FIG. l and viewed perpendicularly to the sectionplane of FIG. l;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view looking rearwardly and taken along the line5 5 of FIG. l, assuming the entire mechanism to be shown therein;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. land rotated through forty-five degrecs, assuming the entire mechanism tobe shown in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1assuming the entire mechanism to be shown therein; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the clutch member shown in FIGS. l, 2and 3.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. l and 2thereof, there is shown a mechanical pencil which includes a barrel 16formed of any suitable material such, for example, as a plastic. Thebarrel 16 is a generally cylindrical tubular member having an internallythreaded forward end portion for receiving a tubular barrel point member17. The point member 17 is preferably formed of metal and includes arelatively narrow annular flange 18 which ts in a complementarycounter-bore 19 at the forward end of the barrel 16. The barrel point 17has a generally tapered external configuration to facilitate holding ofthe penci-l in the fingers during writing.

As shown, a replaceable, throw-away type of lead cartridge and feed unit20 is `carried in the barrel parts 16 and 17 with the forward portion ofthe unit 20 extending through and beyond the front end 17a of the barrelpoint member 17. A supply of cyindrical writing lead rods 21 are held bythe cartridge 20 and one of the lead rods is carried by the centralportion of the cartridge and is adapted to protrude -beyond the nose ofthe cartridge thereby to provide a writing nib. As the presentdescription proceeds, it will be apparent that another lead rod followsthe foremost rod through the feed mechanism so that as each rod 21becomes exhausted, another rod is already in position for use.

The rear or upper end of the barrel 16 is provided with an internalthread 23 which mates with a complementary external thread on a tubulartrim member or sleeve 24. The trim member 24 and the upper end of thebarrel 16 cooperate to provide an annular groove in which an integral,ring-shaped portion 25 of a pocket clip 26 is fixedly supported when thetrim member 24 is tightly threaded into the barrel 16.

An actuator assembly 27 is slidably fitted in the trim member 24 asshown. The assembly 27 includes a cupshaped button member 28, preferablyformed of metal, in which a split ferrule 29 is tightly supported. Acylindrical, resilient eraser 30, formed of rubber or other material, ispress-fitted into the ferrule 29 with a part of the eraser extendingforwardly therefrom. The entire assembly 27 may be pulled out of therear end of the pencil in order to use the eraser 30. When in thepencil, however, depression of the assembly 27 actuates the leadadvancing mechanism as more fully described hereinafter.

In order to removably hold the assembly 27 in the rear end of the pencil15, a generally tubular eraser cup holder 31 is provided. The holder 31is secured as by means of a staking 32 to a plunger member 33 which ispreferably molded of a suitable plastic. The upper or rearward end ofthe cup holder 31 is tubular and has an internal diameter that slidablygrips the cup 28 when the assembly 27 is fully inserted into the holder31 with the lower marginal edge of the ferrule 29 in engagement with aninternally extending annular shoulder 35 provided on the holder 31.Preferably, the shoulder 35 is formed by crimping the cup-holder 31 atthe desired location.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the barrel trim member 24 includes a rear endopening 37 through which the button 28 slidably extends and which has adiameter less than the external diameter of the holder 31. The bore 38in the remainder of the trim member 24 is, however, slightly greaterthan the external diameter of the cup 31 whereby the cup is free toreciprocate in the barrel although it cannot be removed through theopening 37. The plunger 33 includes a cylindrical body portion 40terminating at its lower end in a pair of integrally molded cammingfingers 41 and 42. The fingers 41 and 42 are spaced apart by one hundredand eighty angular degrees and have respective lower camming faces 41aand 42a which are generally curved in a concave direction and which areadapted to abuttingly engage the rearmost end 44 of a lead chambermember 68 of the lead cartridge unit 20, and to engage complemental camsurfaces of alternative forms of writing units for the casing of thepencil 15, as hereinafter explained.

The forward or leading edges 41a and 42a ofthe fingers 41 and 42 abutagainst the rearward face of the end 44 which is slidably fitted in atubular cartridge shell 50. The end 44 has an enlarged rearward portion45 which provides an enlarged surface for engagement by the leadingedges of the cam surfaces 41a and 42a.

The forward end of the shell 50 is gently tapered near the forward end50a and is provided with an inner annular shoulder against which abutsthe rear portion of a point sleeve 52 having a rearwardly disposedexternal annular flange 53. A generally tubular, elongated clutch seatmember 55 has a forwardly extending nose portion which has an externalsurface complementary to the internal surface of the tapered portion 50aof the sleeve 50 and which is fixed between the sleeve portion 50a and atubular bushing 57. An internally disposed annular shoulder 58 on theshell 50 abuts against a rearwardly facing seat 60 on the exterior ofthe clutch seat 55 so that the point sleeve 52, the bushing 57, theclutch seat 55 and the shell 50 are thus formed into a fixed unitaryassembly.

The clutch seat member 55 includes a rearwardly fac ing annular shoulderagainst which abuts the forward end of a coil spring 65 which abuts atits rear end against a forwardly facing annular shoulder 67 on a tubularlead magazine member 68 sealed at its rear end by a disc 69. The leadchamber member 68 is slidably mounted and guided for longitudinalreciprocal movement within the shell 50, and both the shell 50 and thelead chamber member 68 are preferably formed of a translucent plasticmaterial so that the lead rods contained therein are visible when thecartridge is removed from the housing.

In order to feed the lead rods 21 from the chamber 68 into the leadadvancing mechanism, there is provided a lead rod guide washer 70press-fitted into the forward end of the lead chamber. The washer 70includes a centrally disposed annular bore 71 which is slightly largerin diameter than the lead rods 21 which are to be used with the pencil,whereby such lead rods may pass freely therethrough. Also, the uppersurface 72 of the lead guide member 70 is tapered inwardly anddownwardly toward the bore 71 so that the lead rods contained in thelead chamber will slide down along the surface 72 and fall one by oneinto the hole 71 as the lead rods move downwardly through the feedmechanism. It will be noted that the entire forward wall of the chamber68 tapers downwardly toward the hole 71.

Forwardly of the guide washer 70 the rear end of a tubular point clutchmember 73 is secured within the lead chamber 68. The point clutch member73 is part of the lead advancing mechanism and functions to guide thelead during the advancing operation and to retain the lead in theadvanced position during writing. As shown, the point clutch member 73has an enlarged rearward end providing a forwardly facing annularshoulder which abuts against a rearwardly facing annular shoulder 74formed on the internal surface of the lead chamber member 68. The pointclutch 73 has a rearwardly facing, externally disposed annular shoulder76 which tightly abuts the forward end of the lead chamber member 68whereby the point clutch 73 and the lead chamber member 68 form aunitary assembly in which independent relative movement is prevented.

The point clutch member 73 is generally tubular and has an internaldiameter exceeding by a substantial amount the external diameter of thelead rods 21 so that the rods may pass freely therethrough. A pair ofdiametrically opposed slots 78 and 79 extend longitudinally through thecentral portion of the point clutch 73 so that a pair of diametricallyopposed resilient fingers 80 and 81 on an actuating clutch 83 best shownin FIG. 8, may extend therethrough into engagement with the lead rodcontained therein.

The actuating clutch 83 becomes operative during a. lead advancingoperation, and, after the point clutch member 73 and the lead 21 thereinhave been moved to a forwardmost position by depression of the assembly27, serves to hold the lead in an advanced position while the pointclutch member 73 moves rearwardly from the forward position shown inFIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the clutch 83 includesa slit, ringlike lower portion 84 which surrounds the point clutchmember 73 and frictionally but slidably rides on the point clutch member73 for movement therewith between a forwar-d position where the lowerportion 84 abuts a shoulder in a clutch bushing 57 and a rear positionwhere the fingers 80 and 81 are forced in against the lead 21 by theconical inner surface of the sleeve 55. The lingers 80 and 81 havereversely bent marginal end portions providing arcuate lead engagingsurfaces.

In order to grip the lead rod 21 disposed in the point clutch member 73to hold it in an advanced position during writing, the forward end ofthe point clutch member 73 is split by a plurality of longitudinal slots86, preferably three in number, and the forward end of the point clutchmember includes an enlarged, conical external surface 88 so that as thepoint clutch member 73 is moved rearwardly into the sleeve 52 theforward finger portions are compressed tightly against the lead rod. Theinner surfaces 89 near the forward end of the point clutch member 73 areserrated to provide a better gripping surface for lirmly engaging thelead rod 21. It will be understood that the forward end of the pointclutch member 73, when in an unstressed condition, has an internaldiameter that slidably engages the lead rods 21 suliiciently to preventthe lead rods from sliding out of the member 73. When the point clutchmember 73 is fully retracted into the sleeve 52 as shown in FIG. l,however, the clutch lingers formed by the slots 86 are compressedtightly by the sleeve 52 against the lead rod 21 to prevent the leadrods from sliding rearwardly.

As discussed above, reciprocation of the actuator assembly 27 is used toadvance the lead rods in the cartridge 20. In order to bias the pencilcartridge 20 rearwardly against the actuator plunger 33, a coil spring92 is compressed between an annular, rearwardly facing shoulder near thelongitudinal center of the point member 17 and the forward end of thecartridge shell 50. When the actuator assembly 27 at the rear end of thepencil is depressed, the lead chamber 68 and the point clutch 73 aremoved forwardly against the resilient coil spring 65 to feed a lead rod21 through the point member 17 and out of the forward end thereof.

A release of the actuator assembly 27 permits the springs 65 in thecartridge 20 to expand and to move the lead chamber 68 rearwardly in thesleeve 50. Inasmuch as the point clutch 73 is fixed to the chamber 68,it also moves rearwardly in the sleeve 50, and since the point clutch 73frictionally carries the actuating clutch 83, the point clutch pushesthe actuating clutch 83 rearwardly such that the fingers 80 and 81 areurged inwardly by the conical inner surface of the clutch seat 55against the lead rod 21 as shown in FIG. 3. As the point clutch 73continues its rearward movement, the actuating clutch 83 is restrainedagainst further rearward movement by the clutch sleeve 55, so that thefingers 80 and 81 hold the lead rod 21 against further rearwardmovement. When the point clutch 73 is at the end of its rearward travel,the lingers 88 are further urged by the point sleeve 52 against the leadrod 21 to firmly hold it in a projected position exposed for writing.

In order to retract the lead rod 21 into the point clutch 73 to preventundesired marking while the instrument 15 is carried on the person ofthe user, the actuator assembly should be partially depressed to releasethe clutch fingers of the enlarged end 88 of the point clutch 73 fromthe point sleeve 52 and also to slide the actuating clutch 83 forward inthe sleeve 55 to permit the fingers 80 and 81 to expand out ofengagement with the lead rod 21. With the actuator assembly 27 thuspartially depressed, the lead rod 21 may be pushed into the point clutch73 by a slight, externally applied force. When the actuator assembly 27is thereafter released, the lead chamber 68 and the point clutch 73 willretract with the lead rod 21 remaining within the point clutch 73 in ashrouded position.

While the present invention has been described in connectionwithparticular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that manychanges and modilications may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the invention. Therefore, by the appended claims,it is intended to cover all such changes and modifications as comewithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A writing instrument for use with lead rods comprising:

a tubular barrel having a forward portion and a rearward portiondetachably interconnected,

an actuator assembly slidably mounted in said rear- Ward portion formanual reciprocation in said barrel and including a manually operableactuator extending outwardly from said barrel,

a self-contained pencil cartridge disposed in said forward portion andremovable as an assembled unit from said barrel when said forward andrearward portions thereof are separated, said cartridge including:

a tubular shell member, a reciprocable lead supply chamber having apermanently closed rearward end and permanently mounted on and at leastpartially contained in said shell member, a point sleeve secured to thefront end of said shell member, and clutch means mounted in said pointsleeve for operating independently of said barrel to control the feedingof lead rods from said chamber, and

means in said barrel for positioning said lead sup ply chamber inoperating engagement with said actuator assembly.

2. A writing instrument according to claim 1 wherein said cartridgeincludes a spring biasing said reciprocable lead supply chamberrearwardly in said barrel.

3. A writing instrument according to claim 2 wherein said actuatorassembly includes:

a plurality of symmetrically arranged angularly spaced portions thatextend forwardly; and

said lead supply chamber includes an annular portion extendingrearwardly from said cartridge into operative engagement with saidspaced portions.

4. A writing instrument according to claim 1 wherein said cartridge,when removed as a unit from said barrel, is operative to feed lead rodsfrom said cartridge to a writing position.

5. A mechanical pencil of the step-by-step lead-propulsion type,including:

a tubular barrel having a forward portion and a rearward portiondetachably interconnected and having an axially reciprocable means atits rearward end, said reciprocable means including a manually operableactuator extending outwardly from said barrel, and

a lead cartridge unit disposed in said forward portion and removable asan assembled unit from said barrel when said forward and rearwardportions thereof are separated, said cartridge unit comprising:

a tubular shell member supported in said tubular barrel,

a slidable lead chamber assembly permanently mounted on and at leastpartially contained in said shell member and disposed in operatingengagement with the reciprocable means of the tubular barrel, saidassembly comprising a lead chamber having a permanently closed rearwardend and mounted in communication with a longitudinally slotted leadguide tube that terminates in a forwardmost first lead clutch means,

a point sleeve secured to the front end of said shell member forreceiving said first lead clutch means,

a second lead clutch means comprising a body portion slidably disposedon said lead guide tube and a lead engaging member in register with thelongitudinal slot in the lead guide tube,

clutch actuating means on Said tubular shell member for moving the leadengaging member of the second lead clutch means into the longitudinalslot in the lead guide tube upon reciprocation of the lead chamberassembly within the shell member,

means resiliently urging the lead chamber assembly rearwardly of theshell member, and

means in said barrel for positioning said lead supply chamber inoperating engagement with said reciprocable means.

6. A mechanical pencil according to claim 5, wherein said first leadclutch includes a plurality of radiallyresilient lead-engaging lingers,said second lead clutch comprising an arcuate body portion and aplurality of radially-resilient lead-engaging jaws.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein the lead-engaging jaws of the secondlead clutch comprise spring lingers that extend from the arcuate bodyportion and that terminate in radially resilient rounded ends.

'8. The invention of claim 6 wherein the tubular shell member and thelead chamber are transparent.

9. A lead cartridge unit `for a mechanical pencil of the step-by-Steplead-propulsion type that includes a forwardly opening tubular barrelmember having a forward portion and a rearward portion detachablyinterconnected and an axially reciprocable means at its rearward end,said means including a manually operable actuator extending outwardlyfrom said barrel, said lead cartridge unit comprising:

a tubular shell member removably supported in the tubular barrel,

a slidable lead chamber assembly permanently mounted on and at leastpartially contained in said shell member and having arearwardly-disposed abutment for operating engagement ywith thereciprocable means of the pencil, said assembly comprising a leadchamber having a permanently closed rearward end and mounted incommunication with a laterally perforate lead guide tube that terminatesin a forwardmost rst lead clutch means,

a Ipoint sleeve secured to the front end of sell shell member forreceiving said lead guide tube,

a second lead clutch means slidably carried on said lead guide tube andcomprising a body portion and a lead-engaging member,

clutch actuating means on said tubular shell member for moving thelead-engaging member transversely through the perforate lead guide tubeupon rearward movement of the lead chamber assembly within said shellmember,

means resiliently urging said lead chamber assembly rearwardly of saidshell member, and

means in said barrel for positioning said lead supply chamber inoperating engagement with said reciprocable means,

whereby said cartridge `unit can be removed as an assembled unit fromsaid barrel when said forward and rearward portion thereof areseparated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,447,678 3/ 1923 Lindberg 401-672,528,328 10/1950 Baker et al 401-*67 3,137,276 6/1964 Weisser 401-111FOREIGN PATENTS 527,755 10/ 1940 Great Britain. `696,120 9/ 1940Germany. 414,705 8/ 1946 Italy.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner.

